This invention is concerned with modularly assembled deck structures in which one or more panels of the deck are openable as access panels to the space below. In particular, the invention relates to such a deck structure formed entirely of aluminum extrusions, and, in a preferred embodiment, such a structure covering a tank with a substantially gas tight seal.
In prior deck or cover systems, particularly those covering a tank to substantially contain noxious or odorous gases therein, an access panel required a fair amount of time and expense for inclusion in the assembled deck structure. If a deck structure were assembled of the type generally described herein, formed of aluminum extrusions, the inclusion of a hinged access panel would generally require the use of stainless steel hinges, with drilling and bolting or riveting of the hinges into place on each of a fixed panel and the access panel. Further, if a relatively wide panel hinged in this way were lifted by one corner, it would tend to warp and would not lift smoothly because of all the force being applied, against the weight of the panel, unevenly at one corner.